Empire Conquest-Chapter 830 - 86: Critical Mission
In the early morning, Li Shenzhi received a message from the Navy headquarters, actually a telegram, instructing him to prepare for leading the Special Mixed Fleet northward. π§πβ―β―π€β―π£πβ΄πππ.ππ°π
As for the mission, it was to escort a convoy to Novorossiysk in the Mo Sea.
Before the end of the Boi War, or more accurately, after withdrawing troops from the Boi region and leaving the mess to the Liangxia Empire, the Ter Republic announced permanent neutrality. Once the Boi War ended, the Liangxia Empire and the Tiaoman Empire signed an international treaty recognizing and guaranteeing the permanent neutrality of the Ter Republic.
This is the famous "Istanbul International Convention."
The core clause of this convention is the unconditional recognition of the Bosporus Strait, the Marmara Sea, and the Dardanelles Strait as open international waterways.
In fact, this is also the fundamental condition for ensuring the neutrality of the Ter Republic.
According to the treaty provisions, in peacetime, ships from any country can unconditionally pass through the strait, with only prior notification to the straitβs management agency required. In wartime, the Ter Republic would unconditionally open the strait, allowing the harmless passage of any countryβs ships.
Of course, the Ter Republic will not provide services for the military ships of any country.
Contracting states of the treaty must recognize and accept that they are not allowed to conduct military actions within the strait, including attacking ships navigating within the strait, even during wartime.
Subsequently, this "non-warfare" range was extended to all territorial waters of the Ter Republic.
As a result, the Empire Navy ships can enter or exit the Mo Sea via the Bosporus Strait, Marmara Sea, and Dardanelles Strait.
However, being able to pass through the Bosporus Strait does not equate to safely reaching Novorossiysk, let alone controlling the entire Mo Sea.
To put it another way, the Navy headquarters appointed Li Shenzhi as the Acting Commander of the Land Heart Sea Sub-fleet and gave him command of the 51st Special Mixed Fleet. The main objective was to open the route to Novorossiysk to allow the convoy to deliver supplies and equipment there.
This route could be said to be the key to defending the Chains Land Bridge.
To this end, the Navy headquarters recalled the "Li Mingbo" carrier battle group, which was previously operating in the Narrow Sea, to the Land Heart Sea and incorporated it into the 51st Special Mixed Fleet, forming a dual-carrier battle group with its sister ship "Bai Zhizhan" to ensure control of the sea in the East Continent Heart Sea.
The problem is that the Navy headquarters transferred the "Tang Zude" and "Liu Changxun," which were previously operating in the Land Heart Sea.
Although only two "Chen Bingxun"-class large carriers, their combat power is certainly not as strong as the "Xue Yuanzheng"-class super carriers, but these two carriers carry nearly 180 ship-borne aircraft, making them a formidable force wherever they are, even capable of influencing the outcome of battles.
A few days ago, Li Shenzhi called the Navy Commander regarding this matter, requesting to keep at least one of the two ships to form a three-carrier battle group with the two super carriers.
Much to his frustration, the Navy headquarters refused his request, stating that the two large carriers had to return home for major overhauls.
As for whether the dual-carrier battle group is sufficient, the Navy headquarters does not concern itself.
To put it bluntly, if Li Shenzhi believes he cannot complete the operation to advance north to the Mo Sea, he might as well relinquish the position of Sub-fleet Commander.
Fortunately, the telegram received early in the morning gave Li Shenzhi a glimmer of hope.
Before the conclusion of the Reprisal operation, they would destroy the strategic command system in West Luosha to ensure the smooth entry of the 51st Special Mixed Fleet and the convoy into the Mo Sea.
To reassure Li Shenzhi, the Navy headquarters mentioned in the telegram that the Air Force had invested heavily in accomplishing the task.
During last nightβs battle, a new type of combat aircraft was deployed.
Although not explicitly stated, Li Shenzhi immediately thought of the "Hong-X," which had already entered the prototype flight test phase.
According to the third round of military reform guidelines, the development of several new types of combat aircraft, among which the "Hong-X" project is considered crucial by the Air Force, is closest to practical use.
Crucially, the "Hong-X" is core equipment in the third round of military reform.
As far as Li Shenzhi knew, the Empireβs proposal of an air-ground joint operations theory based on technical equipment, whether it could replace the decades-old deep battle theory, and whether it would transition from the mechanized era to the electronic era all depended on this bomber.
Otherwise, the Empire Air Force wouldnβt persistently promote the project even after burning nearly 10 billion Gold Yuan in development costs.
Even under the most optimistic estimates, the "Hong-X" project would burn through 20 billion Gold Yuan.
Given the current situation, the originally planned 20 billion Gold Yuan is certainly not enough, as the initial development alone has already consumed almost 20 billion Gold Yuan.
Although the Air Force has managed to secure additional funding, the legislative two chambers cannot provide unlimited funds.
To control the projectβs total expenditure, the Air Force is even considering reducing the procurement quantity.
According to the procurement plan proposed by the Air Force at the beginning of the year, it temporarily only considered using the "Hong-X" to replace a large number of early "Hong-9" models to maintain the bomber groupβs size. As for replacing all active-duty bombers, it would only be possible during wartime when military funds are no longer restricted.
In fact, if the "Hong-X" is truly as formidable as rumored, it doesnβt need to be procured in large numbers.
In summary, if the Empire Air Force indeed deployed the "Hong-X," there is a high likelihood of paralyzing the command system in West Luosha.
However, the truly critical action actually lies in the Reprisal operation during the first half of the night.
